A New Beginning
by Kiterie
Summary: NejixTenten Will contain all fics related to them falling in love, getting married, and more specifically having an OC kid I created for them.
1. Good Night Kiss

Title: Good Night Kiss  
>Pairing: NejiTen<br>Summary: A drabble written for the Kissing Meme  
>Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto but it is fun to play with the characters so I do. It'd be nice if I got paid for it but I don't.<br>Dedicated to: Reggie who requested it on the Naruto Families (DA) group Kiss Meme

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><p>Tenten knew Neji had a soft side, one he hid from most of the world. She knew because she'd seen it.<p>

She saw it when he ate the anniversary dinner at his parents grave. Even in the early days, before he and his uncle had learned to understand each other, the anger in his eyes was always replaced with a soft aching sadness when he sat before the stone with two names carved in it. He hadn't invited her, not exactly. Out of concern she had trailed after him, thinking he didn't know. When he sighed, stood up, then walked over and dragged her out from behind the tree she had thought he would yell at her or send her away. Neji surprised her though and introduced her to his parents as his new team mate. Every year after he had simply waited for her at the training grounds before walking with her to the memorial dinner.

She saw it whenever he was with little kids. When their team had been assigned to babysit the children of shinobi out on missions she had fully expected to see a scowl to rival that of Sasuke's. Nothing of the sort had happened though. Lee had taken the boys and challenged them to an arm wrestling contest of all six of them against him at once while she and Neji sat down with the girls. The littlest one had pulled out a book, dragged it over, sniffed, wiped her nose on her sleeve, and then promptly sat in Neji's lap. She had offered to do one of the older girls' hair and that had immediately led to two others doing hers and a third doing Neji's. It was hard not to giggle while watching the frilly bows and baubles being tied rather messily into his hair. When he had looked up at her and smiled her heart beat hard in her chest, cheeks burned, and any thought she had of giggling was gone.

She saw it when he looked at her on their first date. Never in all the years she'd known him could she say she had ever seen him nervous so it was hard to know for a moment if that was what she was seeing. Tenten had never seen him blush, had never heard him falter when he spoke, had never seen him break eye contact and look aimlessly at anything except her, and she had never even imagined him doing any of that. All she had done was take her hair down, put on a dress, and apply a very small amount of make-up.

She saw it on their wedding day. It was there in the care he took when he slid the ring on her finger, in the soft, nearly chaste kiss, in the gentle but firm hold he had on her hand at the tea ceremony, and in every other precious moment of that day. She had never felt so treasured as she did when he'd held her while she cried because of all of it. It would have made her feel weak if she hadn't looked up and seen the glistening dampness of unshed tears in his eyes. Strangely, it had surprised her when he'd leaned forward and whispered in her ear that she was the strongest, most beautiful kunoichi he knew. It was biased, they both knew it, and she loved him for saying anyway even if no one else heard a word of it.

Nobody saw the side of Neji that she saw. Nobody was allowed to. Tenten wasn't quite sure why she had been given the honor, but when she watched her husband kiss their new baby girl good night before laying her softly into the bassinet, she was glad she had.


	2. Baby

Title: 赤ん坊 Baby  
>Pairing: NejiTen<br>Summary: Every child is a hope. NejiTen baby fic.  
>Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns Naruto I am just playing around with them.<br>A/N: I wanted to write up an example for the cotest I'm holding on my dA group Teneji

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><p>Tenten picked up the brush, letting the weight of it settle in her hands. The large calligraphy brush was nearly the size of a sword. It was as heavy as one and this particular one, she noted, was weighted similarly. It was the eighth one she had examined. "This one."<p>

Beside her, Neji raised an eyebrow then nodded. Pulling out several coins he handed them over to the vendor silently.

Looking towards the beach and stepping away from the beach side stall, Tenten smiled. Wood and stone cut toys littered the otherwise empty beach. She could see a name carved on one that laid half buried in the sand a few feet from her. Kaiya. Forgiveness. The fear that had filled her for over a year now slipped away replaced with certainty she hadn't felt in all those days or the months before. _'This will work.'_ The thought startled her, her steps faltering for a moment, and she wondered for a moment if she had said it out loud.

Neji's hand slipped to her waist, his fingers curving around her hips. "What's wrong?"

The worry in his voice was something only she and the other two members of Team Gai were allowed to hear. Stopping, she turned to look at him. His shoulders were stiff, held back in an overly-formal manner that she recognized as the way he held himself in front of the elders. It gave away his anxiety. He had dark circles under his eyes which only seemed to stand out even more due to the paleness of the already light skin and the hollowness in his soft lavender eyes. Even the darkness of his hair seemed to add to the effect, making him look more tired and more run down.

She hadn't really looked at him in months. She _couldn't_. It had hurt too much to see her pain echoed in his face. He hadn't cried the way she had. When she'd been torn apart, when she'd had her strength ripped from her _he'd_ remained as stalwart as ever. There had been times she'd envied his ability to remain strong, moments she'd outright resented him for it because she felt weak, and days she had pitied him because of his need to hold onto it.

Now, looking at him, she finally understood. They were partners, they had been before they'd been lovers, before they'd been married. When she had thought she'd lost her strength he'd been right there beside her, holding her up.

"Nothing." For once she meant it. It wasn't some lie to make other people feel better or keep herself from feeling worse. "I just had a thought..." Tenten had never been afraid to speak her mind, not until a year ago, and she hesitated. Saying what she thought, speaking the hope that had crossed her mind with such certainty could jinx it.

Neji relaxed his shoulders, it extended to his eyes and his lips curved up in a very slight smile. "What was that?"

"Just..." She stopped, waiting for the fear to sneak up on her and overwhelm her again. It didn't and she wondered if the place really was magic the way the myths claimed. "That this will work."

He closed his eyes and nodded. "I thought the same thing."

"When you told me about this place I thought it was crazy." She had thought he was patronizing her. When he'd requested leave for them both from the village she'd gone along with it only because it was the anniversary and she knew couldn't take being _there_, in the village with everyone's sympathy weighing her down, but she hadn't believed. The idea that writing a wish for a baby in the sand would do anything except get the person's hopes up had seemed ridiculous. The toys though, they were gifts given only after the wish had come true. The beach was covered with them and it made her wonder how she had ever doubted Neji. If he said something was true, then it was.

Neji's eyes lit with amusement and he shook his head at her. Releasing his hold on her, he gently pushed her towards the water again.

Picking her way through the toys, shells, and rocks, Tenten walked up to the large black rock. It looked like any other inkstone though the size was more than would be necessary even for the large brush she had. She estimated it to be nearly ten feet across and fifteen long. Water filled the reservoir and white salt crusted on the black stone.

The story was that the couple who had originally lived here had, after years of trying and several miscarriages, carved it as a show of their earnest wish for a child. Then they had written their prayer to the gods in the sand and waited. She'd had a child within a year.

She knew how they felt. To hope after such loss had seemed impossible, but somebody had done it once and if this place was evidence of that, then so many more had since. It made her feel less alone.

Tenten dipped the tip of her brush into the water and then carefully she stepped down into the soft sand beside it that had been cleared of debris and toys. Her heart caught for a moment and she realized they hadn't agreed on a name. She looked at Neji, who only smiled back at her, and wondered if she should ask him. The moment she lifted her foot to go to him, the name came to her and like the knowledge that it would work she knew. Her step changed and instead she stepped forward and pushed the bristles through the sand. Finishing it she stepped back and looked at it.

Neji came up behind her and slid both of his arms around her waist. "Kotori. I like it."

"Our little bird of luck." Tenten smiled and leaned into his embrace. The water would wash it away by morning, but she knew then they'd be back with a toy. In her heart she could see no other possible outcome. 


	3. Crib

Title: Bedtime Routine  
>Pairing: NejiTen<br>Summary: Neji puts his wife and baby to bed. A NejiTen Baby fic.  
>Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto does I just like to play with them<br>A/N: This was written for NejiLovers contest which had the theme 'crib' and since I had just written a baby fic seemed like I should apparently do another one.

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><p>Gai and Lee had made it for them so of course it was green. To Neji's surprise it was a muted shade. Flowers and vines climbed over the bars, carved into the wood with each blossom painted with blues, pinks, oranges. The headboard had birds and clouds soaring in blue skies above trees and grass. It outstripped his expectations, which had been that it would be horrible and he would hate it, and still managed to encompass everything his teacher stood for.<p>

Hinata had sewn sheets and blankets for it with the help of Hanabi and strangely enough his uncle. It had surprised him, though he thought now that it shouldn't have, that his uncle had been the originator of his own baby blanket. Neji wondered if they had talked to Gai about the crib, because the colors they chose for the blankets seemed to be perfectly matched, or if it was strictly a coincidence caused by not knowing the sex of the baby.

The gifts spoke of family for more than the obvious reason. Family, he had thought for so many years, he didn't have.

The rocking had been him though. He had started it two years ago, the first time she'd been pregnant, and even after they had lost the baby he'd continued carving it. Between missions, when he needed to get away from the depressing atmosphere of their home in those long months after, and then with renewed passion when they'd conceived again. Somewhere, on a beach far away, there was a small bird that had been carved from the same wood.

Tenten was curled up in it, their baby in her arms. The long, brown hair, she normally kept up in buns, draped messily over her shoulders and the baby.

Neji walked over to the rocking chair, brushed her hair back, and scooped his daughter up.

"Huh, wah..." Tenten mumbled, blinking her deep brown eyes at him and blindly reaching towards him and the baby.

"Shh." He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I'm just going to put her to bed."

Nodding sleepily, Tenten dropped her arms, pulled the blanket in her lap up around her, and slipped off to sleep again.

Chuckling softly under his breath he stepped over to the crib and laid her down gently. "The sun is coming up so of course _now_ you're tired. Now, Kotori, I'm taking your mom to bed and you're going to let her sleep for awhile before you wake her up again, alright?" He tucked her stuffed turtle next to her and brushed his hand over the soft brown curls. "I love you, my little bird."

Turning back to Tenten he slid one arm under her legs and the other behind her back then lifted her and the blanket out of the chair.

She yawned and tucked her head against his shoulder. "I should get up."

He shook his head at her. "You're going to sleep."

"But... sun's up... training... Gai-sensei..." The words weren't all there but the meaning was.

"Even he will understand if I want to keep you at home in bed for the day after the fifth all-nighter in a row." She'd been handling almost everything with the baby the last few days since he'd had missions that had kept him busy during the day and had refused to let him take the nights. Stubborn as she was he had let her keep them because he knew how much it meant to her and how hard it was for to be away from their daughter.

Shifting Tenten in his arms, Neji looked over his shoulder at the crib and smiled. Putting his girls to bed was becoming an early morning routine. He clicked the light off. It was a good routine.


	4. Heroes

Title: Heroes  
>PairingCharacters: NejiTen / Neji, Tenten, Lee, Gai  
>Summary: A sequel to Babyprequel to Crib. Being pregnant makes even the strongest of kunoichi crazy, thankfully Tenten has her boys.  
>Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto but the ideaplot of this is mine.  
>AN: I promised more for this series so here you go.

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><p>"Lee! Tell me where you hid them!" Tenten yanked yet another cupboard open and started pulling the contents out. They joined half the kitchen on the countertop.<p>

"I cannot." Lee flipped the page in the book. "You stated that you did not wish to eat it all at once and instructed me to hide it; I am simply doing what you asked."

Tenten turned and threw the jar she was holding at him. "I don't care what I said five minutes ago! It was five minutes ago!"

Lee caught the jar before it could hit him or the wall and set it calmly down on the counter beside him. "You are not supposed to over-induldge in sweets and have already had three pieces of the daifuku; I do not think it is wise to eat more."

"I-" She threw a plate at him. "-don't-" A cup was launched second. "-car-e-" The half empty soy sauce bottle was flung next. "-what-" Another, smaller plate flew from her fingers. "-your-" Two small bowls followed; one in each hand. "-stupid-" A jar of mashed peas found her hand and the air next. "-girlfriend-" The random kunai she'd found on top of the fridge left her other hand. "-said! Give me my daifuku, NOW!" Tenten glared and let and irritated breath out of her nose.

Each of the items was caught deftly in one hand and set down next to the jar and the other items she had thrown at him in her screaming fit of a search. "Sakura-chan-"

"I don't care what she said!" Tenten screamed, cutting him off and throwing a tea kettle at his head.

Lee caught the tea pot, but had to lean back to keep it from smacking him in the face as the weight and momentum swung it on the handle. "But-"

"Lee." Neji stepped into the kitchen. "Gai-sensei is back with the paint, if you intend to help you may want to get in there before he finishes."

The wide brown eyes grew even larger and Lee flew out of the kitchen, tea pot still in hand. He returned a few second later, set it down, and disappeared once more. "Sensei! I had the most youthful idea!"

Tenten scowled at Neji. "Why did you tell him that before he told me where my daifuku is?" she growled, picking a small black chopstick holder up from the counter, intending to throw it if she didn't like his answer.

Neji smiled, opened one of the lower cabinets, bent down, and reached inside. "Lee pays very close attention to the way a person moves." He pulled the box of daifuku out and handed it to Tenten. "You can't even pull your shoes on anymore. It was that or put it up high and he is [i]very[/i] over-protective so he wouldn't try putting it up out of your reach since you might try something dangerous like walking up the walls."

"I would not," she pouted, opening the box and popping one in her mouth. She sniffled and eased herself into a chair.

Neji walked over and rubbed her neck lightly with one hand. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not crying." She sniffed again. "It's just-" her voice broke slightly, "-him looking out for me even though I'm so mean to him and you..." Tears leaked from her eyes. "I really like daifuku." It hadn't been what she'd meant to say. Not exactly. Neji had made them for her the night before when she'd woken up thinking of nothing else. She didn't even know where he'd gotten the strawberries as late as it had been, and by the time he'd finished she'd already fallen asleep again. "And Gai-sensei and the baby bed and just-" she rubbed at her eyes and ate another piece of the mochi covered fruit. "-everything." It wasn't that she was being over-emotional and she didn't really have a lot of weird cravings or act like she thought a pregnant woman was supposed to act, but they were all being... them and they were her family and her heroes for so many reasons she couldn't put it to words. Especially Neji. She couldn't think of a single food stall that had strawberries for sale right then and he wouldn't tell her how he'd gotten them and she loved him that much more for it.

"Ah." Neji leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "If you let them see you cry they'll start."

Tenten giggled and wiped her tears, knowing it was true.


End file.
